Putting together a six-weekend F1600 Championship Series program, Charles Anti ran his Van Diemen/Honda out of a smaller trailer with his father over the course of the 2018 F1600 season.

The former Pro Mazda pilot found himself at home in an open-wheel car in a deep field of talent, and was able to race on the country’s iconic tracks with Formula Race Promotions offering three hours of track time per weekend.

“I hadn’t raced at Road Atlanta and Mid-Ohio in over a decade, so it was awesome to go back to those two,” said Anti. “Pittsburgh has matured into an amazing circuit and Watkins Glen and VIR are always great places to visit and race.”

Anti pointed to his top 10 run at Watkins Glen in challenging conditions as one of the season’s highlights, as well as running well in his small family operation.

“Running the car with my dad, another amateur,” he said, noting another highlight. “We basically made it up as we went and put out fires (metaphorically!) as they came up.

“Running the car independently, without professionals to clean up my messes has required me to consider the consequences of my decisions on the track,” continued Anti, who posted a significant amount of the 2018 season on his YouTube page. “If I touch another car or tag a wall I have to fix it myself! Sometimes I may have been too conservative, but it has definitely required me to change my approach.”

Anti has a unique approach to each race weekend, which for him starts with a train ride from New York City to Pittsburgh to retrieve his tow vehicle and trailer about a week away from each event.

“I spend a few days helping my dad finish preparing the car, then we load up and head to the circuit. The rest of the weekend is spent trying to keep the car together and solve issues as the come up,” Anti said.

Reflecting upon the F1600 Series he explained: “ For the young drivers, it’s a good place to learn the basics of driving and racecraft. For the older drivers, the fields are bigger than SCCA races and the level of competition is high, but not so high that a privateer would feel like they don’t belong.

“Our plans for next year are similar to 2018, build off of what we’ve done and continue to improve. Hopefully challenge the front runners.”